Vance defends using military to quell protests, refers to Sen. Alex Padilla as ‘José’
Protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement turned violent earlier this month.
Vice President JD Vance used a trip to Los Angeles to defend the Trump administration's decision to send military troops to quell violent protests against federal immigration enforcement efforts in the city.
He also jabbed at California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla. The Vice President accused Padilla – referring to him incorrectly as “Jose Padilla” – of engaging in “political theater” during an incident that saw him handcuffed and removed from a Los Angeles press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
"I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question but unfortunately I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't the theater, and that's all it is," Vance said in response to a questioner asking about Democrats being handcuffed. "I think everybody realizes that's what this is, it's pure political theater."
Padilla spokesperson Tess Oswald noted that Vance, a former U.S. senator from Ohio, served in Congress with the California lawmaker.
"As a former colleague of Senator Padilla, the Vice President knows better," Oswald said on social media. "He should be more focused on demilitarizing our city than taking cheap shots," Oswald added. "Another unserious comment from an unserious administration."
Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk said "he must have mixed up two people who have broken the law."
Vance's Los Angeles trip is the highest-level visit by a Trump administration official to a city that has become the epicenter of resistance against a White House campaign to deport millions of immigrants from the country.
Trump activated the California National Guard over Newsom's objections to respond to protests that turned violent, and also deployed U.S. Marines. A federal appeals court ruled June 19 that Trump can retain control over California's National Guard while Newsom proceeds with a lawsuit challenging the legality of the move.
"When you have violent agitators who make it impossible for law enforcement to do their jobs, it is necessary to protect them and defend them," Vance said during the June 20 trip where he met with federal officials responding to the protests.
Vance accused California's governor of making the situation worse for law enforcement, describing "violent mobs egged on by Gavin Newsom and other officials."
Newsom condemned the violence that erupted, encouraging protesters to "speak out peacefully." He has led the opposition to Trump's use of troops in Los Angeles, calling the president's actions those of a "dictator," accusing him of taking a "wrecking ball to democracy" and filing a lawsuit against him.
"This is about all of us, this is about you," Newsom said in a video released June 10. "California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived."
Tensions flared further when Padilla was dragged out of Noem's Los Angeles press conference on June 12, pushed to the floor, and handcuffed. Federal law enforcement agents forcibly removed Padilla after he interrupted the event.
Vance's comment about Padilla draw a sharp response from Newsom and other Democrats.
"JD Vance served with Alex Padilla in the United States Senate," Newsom wrote on social media. "Calling him 'Jose Padilla' is not an accident."
Protests against ICE raids erupted in Los Angeles in early June. Nationwide "No Kings" protests against Trump’s aggressive expansion of executive power occurred on June 14 in cities across the country
A small minority of protesters in Los Angeles violently attacked federal law enforcement, burned cars and committed other acts of violence.
"What happened here was a tragedy," Vance said.
Newsom has said the protests were "winding down" and that the president's action caused things to escalate.
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president enflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our national guard at risk," Newsom said in the June 10 video.
Democrat-led Los Angeles is home to millions of immigrants and is a melting pot of Latino, Asian and other cultures.
Some 4.2 million people, or nearly a third of the 13 million residents of greater Los Angeles, are foreign-born, according to a Migration Policy Institute analysis of U.S. Census data.
Contributing: Riley Beggin